Five Money Scams to Watch Out for on Craigslist Western Massachusetts

Publish date: 2024-07-12

Western Massachusetts is one of the areas that make up the New England region. This college town is utterly beautiful and full of approximately 100,000 brainy university students, but unfortunately, it’s also full of scammers out to take advantage of naïve students. Western Massachusetts has had its fair share of Craigslist scams that have victimized many people in the area. If you’re ever looking to use Craigslist here, make sure you’re aware of the many scams that are circulating and making people lose tons of money. Here are five money scams that you absolutely need to watch out for if ever you’re on Craigslist Western Massachusetts.

1. Personal information scam

Aside from the fact that majority of scams like this will also get your for your money because it involves a fraudulent check, these kinds of scams will also get you for your personal information. If you’re a seller looking to make a profit, don’t even entertain buyers that are asking for your personal information. You should never give that out for buyers looking to have someone “pick up” the product you’re selling. The point of Craigslist is to be able to conduct business as smoothly as possible. Otherwise, you’re probably better off waiting on an easier and more legitimate buyer to deal with. You can never be too careful.

2. Apartment scam

This is probably one of the most prevalent scams there could be. Apartment scams are everywhere on Craigslist, and Western Massachusetts is no exception. This scam involves people using actual apartment listings and advertises them as their own. It can be quite confusing because it’ll seem like you’re really dealing with someone legitimate. However, the best solution is to simply go to the actual property to see it first hand and to meet the person or people renting it out. If the name doesn’t match the name of whomever you’ve been dealing with on Craigslist, then you’ll know that you’ve been dealing with a scammer. This is one of the scams that have been plaguing Craigslist for years, so make sure you keep a vigilant eye.

3. Backyard shed scam

This is probably one of the more unique scams on Craigslist, and it’s happening largely in the New England area including Western Mass. Supposedly, people are advertising authentic-looking shed businesses on Craigslist. Once you inquire, they reach out to you to get a contract going. Eventually, the interaction results to you giving out your credit card information. As per the contract given to you, the company will charge half upon agreement to contract and half upon installment. They’ll charge your card but they will never show up to install a shed. You’ll also never hear from the false company ever again because they already got what they wanted.

4. PayPal confirmation scam

There are plenty of telltale signs when you’re dealing with a scammer on Craigslist. One of the biggest ones would be the communication. Inconsistencies in the way people write would suggest a scam. Next would be payment ordeals. Most Craigslist buyers would just pay for something outright. Payment shouldn’t be too complicated, but you’re likely dealing with a scammer if you have to go through hoops and loops just to get a payment. For example, if you have to go through PayPal and then through Western Union to deal with a third party mover that’s going to pick up the product for the buyer, then you’re more than likely dealing with a scammer as well. Also, if you ever get a payment confirmation from PayPal that says they’re withholding funds or something to that matter, stop the buy. It’s a scam.

5. Ebay seller scam

Unfortunately, Craigslist scammers are using eBay to scam people out of their money. If you’ve ever encountered a Craigslist ad looking for eBay sellers, don’t even bother entertaining it. It’s a scam. The original post likely have had their eBay account revoked because of fraudulent activity to begin with. They are trying to find a way to funnel their funds legitimately. Anytime you become the middleman for sketchy parties, you could get yourself in real deep trouble. Just make sure that you pay attention to cues and ask around before you start agreeing to anything.